Too Far
by mounisu
Summary: Ash yells at his companions, and Misty takes it pretty hard
1. Too Far

Too Far  
  
Brock's eyes welled up as Ash's stinging words hit him. He fought to keep his tears from falling down his cheeks. He tightened his grip on the couch in the pokémon center and glared at Ash. Ash glared right back.  
"You have no reason to insult me like that Ash," he said in a low, somber voice.  
"I'll insult whoever I want!" Ash yelled, stamping his foot.  
"Ash, be quiet. You're upsetting everyone in the pokémon center. Including Togepi and Pikachu." Misty glanced at Togepi and Pikachu on the couch with Brock.  
Ash whirled around to face Misty. He began yelling an insulting her.  
Instead of tears, Misty's eyes filled with pure anger and hatred. She said nothing, only picked up her bag off the floor and headed for the door.  
"Misty, where are you going?" Ash asked, blocking the doorway.  
Misty turned and walked back to the couch and snatched Togepi off it and into her arms.  
"Pika pika?" Pikachu waved to Togepi with wobbly eyes.  
"I am leaving!" Misty said angrily. She headed for the door again and shoved Ash out of the way.  
"It's a good thing you remembered Togepi or I would have made scrambled eggs out of it!" Ash yelled after her.  
"Pikachu," Pikachu whimpered watching Misty and Togepi walk into the heavy fog that had settled around the area.  
"You're the reason this happened Pikachu! I should put you into a pokéball!" Ash yelled.  
"Chu," Pikachu moaned and hid behind a pillow.  
  
An hour later...  
Brock sat on a bench and watched the tiny letters fall from his spoon back into the big bowl of alphabet soup. Pikachu did the same. Brock sighed and dropped the spoon onto the table. He'd lost his appetite.  
"Cha," Pikachu put a small hand on Brock's arm. Brock smiled.  
"Hey Brock. Ok if I sit here?"  
Brock looked up to see Ash holding a bowl of alphabet soup, a spoon, and a green napkin.  
"Sure," Brock replied, moving his attention back to his soup.  
Ash sighed. "Look Brock, I'm really sorry about what I said earlier. You didn't deserve it, I did for acting like that."  
Brock's eyes met Ash's. He saw that Ash really meant it. "It's ok Ash. Everybody gets upset sometimes. Everybody has different ways of letting out their anger. You just yell a lot."  
Ash smiled. He saw Pikachu staring at him. "Pikachu, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. And I shouldn't have threatened you either. I know you hate pokéballs."  
"Pi pi chu!" Pikachu squealed and let out a bolt of electricity, accidentally frying Brock and Ash.  
"I'm glad you forgive me Pikachu," Ash stuttered through gritted teeth.  
A few minutes later, they'd recovered (typical anime for ya) and were slurping up their soup like there was no tomorrow.  
"Ash," Brock said with a mouthful of food. "Did you apologize to Misty?"  
Ash dropped his spoon. The spoon splashed some soup out of the bowl and into Ash's lap but he ignored it and just stared out a window, into the fog. He saw something move and immediately jumped up and walked out the door of the pokémon center. Brock cocked an eyebrow at Pikachu and Pikachu shrugged.  
Ash stopped about 10 feet away from the pokémon center. He scanned the area but he didn't see Misty anywhere.  
"Misty!" his voice rang out. There was no reply.  
"Come back! I'll give the money for a bike! Come back!" Some Pidgey flew through the air, but still no Misty.  
  
Ash ran back into the pokécenter and grabbed his bag. He opened it and began to rummage through it.  
Brock looked up and started to say, "Did you find her?" but Ash was gone before he could say a word.  
"Pikachu?" Pikachu hopped off the table and touched Ash's bag.  
"What?" Brock looked confused.  
Pikachu started making motions and pointing. "Pikachu pika pi pi chu pi chu!"  
Brock bit his lip. "You want to know if Ash is abandoning you?"  
Pikachu nodded.  
"I...I don't know,"  
  
Ash took the elastic off the wad of money he had been collecting. He unfolded a piece of paper that was taped on and took a deep breath.  
The paper had only one word.  
Misty.  
He let the paper fall to the ground and covered it in dirt. The fog was getting thicker. Ash shivered and rubbed his arms. He looked at the money one last time, then tore it up. Shredded it into little tiny pieces. And threw it all into the wind.  
"Come back," he whispered. He uncovered the piece of paper and threw it into the wind too. It stayed visible only for a few seconds, then disappeared into the fog.  
Just like Misty had.  
Ash struggled not to cry. He let out a small, ragged breath.  
"Come back." 


	2. Unexpected Response

Unexpected Response  
  
Six months after "Too Far"... (in other words, read it before this)  
  
"Have you even thought about what you're going to say Ash?"  
"N-ye-I...that doesn't matter! I'll know what I'm gonna say when we get there!" Ash bit his lip nervously as he, Brock and Pikachu approached the sign, signifying that they were in the city.  
The sign had two huge words.  
Cerulean City.  
"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked.  
Ash glanced at Pikachu on his shoulder. Pikachu knew why they were there. Why they had traveled back to Cerulean City.  
Misty.  
Ash had to apologize. He had missed his chance back at the pokémon center, six months ago, when she had left.  
He had been an idiot for yelling at her, Brock and Pikachu. They didn't deserve it. It was him who had messed up, not them. He was lucky that Brock hadn't also left, or that Pikachu hadn't abandoned him.  
Misty on the other hand, wasn't about to hang around after that night. She'd stormed off, probably never to return.  
Ash couldn't blame her.  
Brock forgave him and Ash was grateful for it. He was a good friend and never let Ash down, even when Ash acted like he had that night.  
Pikachu didn't leave. Pikachu never would. The strong thread that held them together had worn thin when Ash had yelled, but over time had become stronger than ever.  
"We're here Ash," Brock announced, interrupting his thoughts.  
Ash looked up. They were in front of the Cerulean City Gym.  
"Pika," Pikachu said.  
Ash sighed and reached out, grabbing the handles on the door. He held onto them for a moment, suddenly wondering if he was making a big mistake.  
He had to apologize. He had to say he didn't mean it. He had to say he had made a big mistake. He had to say he loved her.  
Brock put his arm on Ash's shoulder and gave him a smile. "You have a lot of courage Ash. Use it."  
Pikachu patted Ash's head and nodded.  
"Thank you Brock, Pikachu," Ash smiled too. "Let's go. No time like the present, right?"  
Ash pulled the doors open and stepped inside. It had been a long time since he'd been there, but the gym hadn't changed.  
Brock headed towards the giant pool, where Daisy, Lily and Violet had practiced their swimming and done the underwater ballet. He couldn't wait to see if they were still there and if he could ask them out.  
Ash wandered mindlessly around the gym, wondering where he could find Misty. It was a big gym, and he soon found himself lost.  
"Ash?" a voice asked. "Is that you?"  
Ash froze. He knew that voice.  
It was Misty.  
He slowly turned around. Misty stood in a doorway, with a questioning look on her face. Ash swallowed nervously.  
Misty looked the same as she always had, except she was wearing a blue bathing suit and had a towel draped around her neck. Her hair hung loosely, dripping wet. Ash guessed that she had just gone swimming. She crossed her arms and frowned at Ash.  
"Uh...Misty..." Ash began.  
"What are you doing here Ash?" Misty interrupted. "I left so I never had to see you again, not so you could come here and prowl around the gym."  
"That's not why I'm here," Ash stated firmly. He bit his lip. He should have listened to Brock and thought about what he was going to say.  
"Pikachu?" Ash had forgotten that Pikachu was still with him. "Pika pika pi?" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and did an impressive Brock impression.  
Ash had to smile, despite the situation. He nodded and with that, Pikachu ran off in search of Brock.  
"If you're not going to tell me why you're here, I'm leaving," Misty adjusted the towel around her shoulders and turned to leave.  
"No Misty wait," Ash protested. "I came here to apologize."  
"For what happened six months ago?" Misty asked.  
"Yes. I'm sorry I yelled at you. You didn't do anything wrong, I did." Ash pulled off his hat and twisted it around in his hands.  
"You yelled at me and Brock, just because of a loss to Gary. It's not the end of the world Ash. If you react like that, then Gary IS the better trainer." Misty glared at him.  
"I know! I was under a lot of stress! I couldn't keep it in!"  
"I'm sorry Ash, I can't accept your apology," Misty walked away, leaving Ash with a shocked look on his face.  
"But..." Ash was heartbroken. He ran in front of her, sticking out his arms so she couldn't get past.  
"There's no reason for you to still be here so why don't you just leave?" Misty folded her arms and glared at Ash again.  
"There's something that I haven't told you yet," Ash began twisting his hat again.  
Misty tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?"  
"Um...well...I..." Ash decided just to blurt it out and get it over with. "I love you Misty."  
"You wh-"  
"Let me finish. I've loved you since you fished me and Pikachu out of that river near Pallet. When you followed me to the pokémon center with your er, totaled bike, I realized it. I'll never forget when I saw you in Maiden's Peak. You were so beautiful. And at the-"  
"Stop it Ash," Misty cut in. "I don't want to hear it."  
"But...why?" Ash frowned.  
Misty sighed. "I don't feel the same way. I'm sorry."  
Ash's mouth dropped open. He felt like someone had just grabbed his heart and smashed it into tiny pieces. Misty was already leaving, and Ash couldn't stop her.  
"Come back," he whispered, being hit by déjà vu so hard he couldn't believe it. He slumped to the floor, letting the tears flow freely. He remained there for a few minutes, then tossed his hat to the ground and stormed out of the gym, angry at himself for letting his feelings slip out. "Goodbye," Ash muttered. He turned and ran. 


	3. It's All In Your Head

It's All In Your Head  
  
2 days after "Unexpected Response"... (once again, read it before this, and "Too Far" before that)  
  
Misty glanced to her right, where two days ago, she'd seen Ash for the first time in six months. She paused for a moment, staring through the doorway. She was about to walk away when something caught her eye. Curious, she went to see what it was.  
Ash's hat.  
Misty frowned. Why had he left it there? Recalling the memory of when Ash caught Primape, she remembered him saying that he had to send in a million postcards to get that hat. There was no doubt the dirty old hat had sentimental value to Ash, so he should have taken it with him. He hadn't though, and Misty found that to be unlike him.  
  
"I've been meaning to ask Ash," Brock folded up the map with a frown on his face. He had no idea where they were. Ash had led them into a forest outside Cerulean City, which wasn't on the map. They had been wandering around for two days and there was no sign of any cities.  
Ash turned around, continuing to walk but backwards. "Yeah Brock?"  
Brock moved his eyes to Ash's head. "What happened to your hat?"  
"My hat..." Ash stopped walking. He raised his hand to his head and ran his fingers through his hair. "I lost it."  
"You lost it? How? You love that hat!" Brock stopped a few feet away from him.  
"It was an accident!" Ash yelled.  
Brock backed up a bit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound imposing or anything." He looked at the sky, then began walking again. "I was just wondering."  
Ash sighed, knowing that his temper had gotten him into this mess in the first place. "It's ok Brock, I didn't mean to yell. It's just..." he trailed off and bit his lip.  
"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked.  
Brock turned to face Ash. "What?"  
"Never mind," Ash replied quickly, and jogged to catch up with Brock, Pikachu running close behind.  
  
Misty gazed out the window at the cloudless sky. The stars twinkled brightly, seeming closer than they'd ever been before. The moon shone through it and lit up the entire room. In a few days there would be a full moon, which would probably be brighter than the one Misty was looking at now.  
"Misty? You're still awake?"  
Misty whirled around at the sound of the familiar voice, coming face to face with Daisy. Daisy narrowed her eyes at Misty, who gave her a small smile.  
"It's 2:34 AM! Get some sleep!" Daisy hissed loudly and walked past Misty to the window. She flung the drapes shut violently and turned to face Misty again. Glaring at her, Daisy silently went back to her bedroom, leaving Misty staring at the small beam of light that was shining through the crack the drapes had left. Her eyes followed it to the table in the middle of the room, with a single item on it.  
Ash's hat.  
Misty glared at the hat, wishing it would leave her alone. No, every time she got the memory of her and Ash arguing out of her head, the hat had to remind her again. It seemed like the hat was trying to tell her something, and Misty had a feeling she knew what it was.  
Deciding to try to ignore the hat, she went to the kitchen and turned on the tap, letting the cool refreshing water run through her fingers. She filled a glass and drank it quickly, hoping it would help her get to sleep (it never does though...). Turning off the water, she headed for her bedroom, feeling sleepier than she had a few minutes ago.  
Using the wall as a guide as her eyes were half closed, she moved towards her nice comfy bed for about two seconds before she tripped over something and brought a picture that had been hanging on the wall down with her. It landed with a crash that echoed through the hallway and Misty winced, hoping Daisy and her other sisters, whose rooms were only a few feet away, hadn't heard that. She stayed sitting on the floor for a moment before deciding that if Daisy had heard the crash, she'd simply buried her head under her pillow, muttering about why her scrawny little sister could make so much noise so early in the morning.   
Misty stood up and squinted, trying to figure out what had tripped her without turning on any lights. She saw something behind the picture, which had its frame cracked right down the middle, and after realizing what it was, scowled and wondered if she was ever going to get any sleep.  
It was Ash's hat again.  
Misty snatched it up off the floor and carried it to her room. The stupid thing was never going to leave her alone, so she decided to do the obvious and get rid of it. Marching up to her garbage can and stamping her foot on the pedal (is that what they're actually called? ^_^;;), making more noise than she intended to and hearing Lily yell her name through a closed door, she dangled the hat over the opening, preparing to drop it.  
The hat must have been working its magic though, because Misty couldn't find it in her to drop it into the small black hole. Memories flooded back of her, Brock and Ash. Of the struggles they went through to get Ash's badges. Of the times they'd foiled Team Rocket, which took a while since that happened on a regular basis. Of catching new pokémon, mainly deciding on who got to keep Togepi. Of the argument.  
Misty couldn't stand it any longer. She couldn't through the hat away, it wasn't in her. She couldn't keep it, it was driving her crazy, haunting her even. There was only one thing to do.  
Face her fear.  
Find Ash. 


	4. Déjà Vu

Déjà Vu  
  
4 minutes after "It's All In Your Head"... (As always, read that before this, "Unexpected Response" before that, and "Too Far" before that. A lot of reading now... ^_^;;)  
  
Misty stuffed the last thing she needed, Ash's hat, into her bag and zipped it up. She flung it over her shoulder and carefully picked up Togepi, who was sleeping on her pillow. She tiptoed to the door and switched off the light, once again being swallowed into the darkness. Too late for her unfortunately.  
"Misty? I thought I told you to stop making so much noise and get some sleep!" Daisy blocked Misty's way to the door at the end of the hallway. She glared at Misty, waiting to hear an excuse.  
Misty glared back at her. Without a word, she shoved Daisy aside and continued walking.  
"Where are you going?" Daisy asked, moving back into the middle of the hallway.  
"I'm doing something I should have done a long time ago. This hat has caused me enough grief," Misty replied, opening the door.  
"But you just go that hat a few days ago," Daisy said thoughtfully.  
Misty slammed the door. Daisy shrugged, not really caring what Misty was doing or where she was going, as long as she could get some sleep.  
  
"Morning Ash! Eggs?" Brock asked, a frying pan in his hand.  
"Mmmph," Ash mumbled, in a pitiful attempt to say something intelligent. He ran his hand through his hair, feeling strange because his hat wasn't where it usually was.  
"Miss your hat?" Brock asked sympathetically.  
Ash started to nod, but quickly shook his head, remembering about how he'd 'lost' it. He sat down on a rock and gratefully accepted the eggs Brock handed to him.  
Brock watched Ash eat carefully, trying to figure out what had really happened to his hat. Ash was normally very stubborn, so he wouldn't give up the hat easily. That is, if he was acting like himself, which he wasn't. Brock definitely saw a change in Ash during the last few months.  
"Is something wrong Brock?" Ash asked, interrupting his thoughts. Brock realized he'd been staring at Ash and quickly looked at his eggs.  
"Just thinking," he replied, hoping Ash would be satisfied with that answer and not ask any more questions.  
"Oh," Ash replied, not suspecting a thing.  
  
Misty looked up from her map and frowned. She was beginning to have second thoughts about her decision to find Ash. It was going to be nearly impossible to find him and Brock. She let out a deep sigh while Togepi squealed happily, not noticing it's trainer's frustration. Misty carefully put Togepi in her bag, on top of Ash's hat.  
Smoke was billowing up above the trees and Misty sighed again. She wished she had the fire in front of her. She watched the smoke, jealous of whoever had the fire.  
Suddenly it hit her-the fire was made by Ash and Brock. She grinned at the smoke, which moved slightly to the left in the wind. Misty began jogging in hopes of finding Ash below the trees that the smoke was above.  
  
"We need more firewood," Brock said, glancing at the fire, which was dying quickly. Their pile of wood had been decreased to a few broken sticks.  
Ash nodded. "Yeah."  
Brock rolled his eyes. "I'll go get some," he volunteered, seeing Ash wasn't about to go anywhere. "Come on Pikachu, you can help."  
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried. Brock strode off, Pikachu running close behind him.  
Ash closed his eyes, wanting to shut out the world and everyone in it. His mind kept drifting back to Misty, but he pushed her memory away every time. It was hard to think about her and what he'd said.  
And what she had.  
Did she really hate him? Was the only reason she was following him really for her bike? Did she not care about him at all?  
"Ash?" a small voice interrupted his thoughts.  
Ash's eyes flew open and he leapt to his feet. The voice was all too familiar.  
"Misty," he gasped. "What are you doing here?"  
"I just came to gi-"  
"Go away," Ash said and turned away from her.  
Misty frowned. "Do you want your hat?" she asked quietly.  
"I said go away!" Ash yelled, crossing his arms.  
"What's wrong with you Ash?" Misty demanded, hands on her hips. "Two days ago you wouldn't leave me alone, and now you're giving me the cold shoulder!"  
"What's wrong with me?" Ash repeated. "I'll tell you what's wrong! Six months ago my temper got the better of me and I yelled at my friends. I had some time to think after I finished yelling and apologized to two of them. They gave me a second chance. But the other just walks out and abandons me, not even saying goodbye, after all we went through together! The past year was basically meaningless! I spent six months thinking about what I had done and how badly I had screwed up a beautiful friendship until it finally hit me to do something about it. I convinced the two that had stayed with me to go to Cerulean City so I could try to fix the mess I had created. I tell my 'friend' I'm sorry and how I really feel and what reaction do I get? 'I hate you! Go away!' I was devastated! The one person I truly cared about in this world hated me!"  
"I never said I hated you Ash," said Misty.  
"You implied it! You left me, Brock and Pikachu at that pokémon center with no explanation! You didn't try to get a hold of us at all! You yelled at me at your gym! You said you never wanted to see me again!" Ash accused. He whirled around and glared at Misty. "If you really hated me that much, why didn't you leave sooner?! I went through my own personal hell for six months!"  
Misty stood there with her mouth hanging open. "Why are you being so stubborn Ash? I never said I hated you and the only reason I came here was to give you your hat back!"  
Ash smirked at her. "Don't you see Misty? This is exactly how you treated me. Didn't let me say anything and wanted me just to get lost."  
Misty bit her lip. Ash was right, she had treated him like that. She gazed at the ground sadly.  
"So now you know how it feels," Ash whispered, barely audible. "You know what it's like to have your friends suddenly hate you." His eyes met Misty's. "Goodbye Misty."  
"Goodbye?" repeated Misty, also whispering.  
Ash nodded. "Have a nice life." He started cleaning up his breakfast.  
"So you're just planning to leave me here?" Misty asked, glaring at him.  
"You did the same to me," Ash replied with a shrug.  
"Take your stupid hat then!" Misty yelled, yanking out of her bag after moving a sleeping Togepi to the side.  
"Forget it! You kept, so I don't want it!"  
"Is that so?" Misty glanced around and spotted a mud puddle a few feet away. "Neither do I!"  
Ash turned around just in time to see his hat hit the mud. The wind flipped it over a few times and within seconds, the once proud red and white official Pokémon League hat was covered in mud and resembled a Grimer.  
Misty was stomping away from the mud covered hat with a grim look. Ash watched her for a second before he timidly called out her name. She stopped but didn't turn to face him.  
"What?" she asked in an angry voice.  
"I..." he began.  
"Never want to see me again?" she suggested. "That's fine with me Ash, because I feel the same way."  
Ash stared at the ground for a moment, then look up with a fierce look in his eyes. "Goodbye!" he yelled at Misty, who had already begun walking again. He'd had second thoughts about going back to see her before, but now he was certain that he messed up by doing that. This was the right decision now. Never see her again.  
Ash watched Misty walk away slowly. She disappeared into the wind and the trees.  
That was it. She was gone.  
And Ash didn't give it a second thought. 


End file.
